Mounting for trolley-switches



; H. E. BALLA MOUNTING FOR T HES.

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H. E. BALLARD.

MOUNTING FOR'TROLLEY swl-rcug sv APPLICATION man SEPT. 14, r520. v Patented May 10,1921.

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MOUNTING, FOR TROLLEY SWITCHES; v APPLICA TION man SEPT. 14, 1920. 1 ,377,653, Patented May 10, 1921..

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nnirso STATES PATENT @FEEQE.

HARRY E. BALLARD, OFI-IOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE COBURN TROLLEY TRACK MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS,

A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

MOUNTING FOR TROLLEY-SWTTGHES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 10, 1921.

Application filed September 14, 1920. Serial No. 410,283.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HARRY E. BALLARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of lclolyoke, county of Hampden, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Mountings for Trolley- Switches, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts in each of the several views.

This invention relates to overhead trolley tracks such as are used in shops and factories for the transfer of articles and materials from one part of the shop to another. More particularly the invention has to do with an improved roller mounting for shiftable switch track sections which are suspended from an overhead support in a manner so that they may be moved for connec ing different track portions to form a continuous track stretch at will. The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting for the rollers whereon the car bearing the switch track section is supported, so that these rollers are located directly under the rails which constitute the car frame and upon a track borne by the beam supports. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description, and the distinctive features of novelty will be thereafter pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view showing a portion of a track system including a car bearing shiftable switch track sections;

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation on a relatively enlarged scale with intermediate portions broken away showing the car bearing the switch track sections and the sup port therefor;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view on line 3-8 of Fig. 1 on larger scale corresponding to Fig. 2; and

Fig. 41 is a sectional. detail showing the mounting of one of the rollers.

10 indicates a series of beam supports suitably secured to the ceiling or overhead structure of the shop and arranged in parallelism in pairs to constitute ways or tracks upon which cars 11 are mounted to operate. The beams 10 are illustrativelyshown ordinary I-beams and the cars'll are also shown made up of I-beam sections suitably secured together by tie braces 12. These cars bear depending therefrom one or more switch sections 13 of the trolley track upon which operate the trolleys bearing the article or load to be transferred in the shop. As shown the car 11 of Fig. 1 bears two of these switch track sections, 2'. 6., a straight section 13 and a curved section 13*, these sections being adapted to be brought into register with any one of the tracks 14 at one side of the car 11 and the straight section 13 permitting transfer of the trolley to another straight section 15 at the other side of thecar, while the curved section 13 permits transfer to another curved diagonally extending section 15. The track sections 13 may be suspended from the car 11 in any suitable manner, but as shown this is accomplished by spacing sections 16, 17 of channelbeams, the track 13 being held clamped to these and to the car by through bolts 18, and the sections 16, 17 being further secured to the track 13 and the car 11 respectively by other bolts 19, 20. The track portions 14; maybe a part of the relatively fixed track ways, or, and as shown, they may be borne upon another movable car 11 mounted on rollers supported on beams 10 in like manner as the car 11 to be described. In accordance with my invention the bottoms of the beam sections 11 at the sides of the car are equipped with hearing strips 21 preferably applied to the central portion. of the bottom surface of the beams. These strips rest upon'a series of rollers 22 which rest and operate upon bearing strips 23 applied to the central portion of the tops of the beams 10, these strips 23 corresponding in width to thestrips 21. The rollers 22 are held to operate in spaced apart relation by having a mounting upon studs or pins 2 1 which extend through the rollers and have projecting ends secured in side bars 25 which extend at each side of the rollers 22 the entire length of the series thereof. The rollers are provided at their ends with flanges 26 adapted to engage the sides of the bearing strips 21, 23 to hold the series of rollers fromendwise displacement and to hold the car from displacement with reference thereto.' The studs 24 have transverse holes at the projecting ends thereof through which are engaged cotter pins 24L bearing against the outer sides of the bars 25. These studs 24: are considerably smaller than the axial passage through the rollers and a spacing tube or pipe scction 27 is mounted on these studs with its ends engaged with the bar 25, this tube being slightly longer than the roller 22 and preventing the spacing bars 25 from rubbing on the rollers, it being noted that the tubes 27 thus constitute the axles for the rollers. The bars 25 in this way serve to keep the rollers properly spaced and prevent them from getting bunched up in case the load should be carried on only a few of them, due to irregularities in the supporting rails. The series of rollers 22 at each side of. the car is therefore a separate unit resting for free movement upon the lower bearing strip 23 of the beam supports lOand engaged from above for free movement by a bearing strip 21 borne by the car. I thus obtain a roller bearing of the greatest possible flexibility and ease of movement supported directly underneath the side beams of the car and in a manner so as to hold the car from displacement, as well as being itself held from displacement on the beam supports. For limiting the range of movement of the car thus mounted, the beam supports 10 may be provided with suitable stops 28 at the ends of the bearing strips 23, and the car may be provided with cooperative stops 29 at the ends of the bearing strips 21. The present type of roller mounting is also of advantage in that it avoids the necessity for mounting the rollers on pivot studs supported from one end only as has heretofore been usual. I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being bad to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: r

1. Apparatus of the kind described, comprising a car bearing one or more sections of a trolley track depending therefrom and having channel beams at its sides, beam sup ports upon which the car is mounted for movement, and a roller bearing mounted upon said beam supports and upon which the side beams of the car rest, said side beams of the car and beam supports having each bearing strips borne on the faces there o said roller bearing consisting of a series or rollers constituting a separate unit engaging said stripsand with retaining means at their ends engaging said strips to prevent relative displacement.

2. Apparatus of the kind described, comprising a car bearing one or more trolley track sections and having side beams incorporated in the frame thereof, beam supports for the car located directly under said side 762M118 of the car, bearing strips borne by the bottoms of said side beams and by the tops of said beam supports respectively, and a roller bearing interposed between said bearing strips composed of a series of rollers equipped with means for holding them spaced apart and also with means for engaging the sides of said strips whereby the car is held from displacement with respect to said beam supports. I Apparatus of the kind described, comprising a car having parallel side beams incorporated in its frame work, beam supports upon which the car operates directly under said side beams, and a roller bearing applied to the top of said beam supports and upon which said side beams rest directly, said roller bearing constituting a separate unit and equipped with means for holding the car from displacement with respect to said beam supports.

4. Apparatus of the kind described, comprising a car bearing one or more sections of a trolley track and having parallel beams at the sides of its frame work presenting relatively wide bottom faces, beam supports presenting relatively wide top faces upon which said side beams of the car are directly supported, and a roller bearing constituting a separate unit mounted. for movement upon he top face of said beam supports and having said side beams of the car resting directly thereon.

In testimony whereof, I. have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY E. BALLARD. 

